The body of Nazareth Hagop Berberian, the Armenian-American businessman who was turned up missing on April 25th and whose body was found murdered on May 15th has been returned to Los Angeles today. The body was received at LAX by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office where a second and much more detailed autopsy will be conducted to determine the actual cause of death, all injuries inflicted, traces of poisoning and the approximate date of Berberian's murder.

A second DNA test will also be conducted. The results of the first test that reportedly determined Berberian’s identity was inaccurate since it showed traces of DNA belonging to someone other than Berberian. According to Ara Manoogian, the Berberians' legal representative in Armenia, "the police claims of the date, method, place and motives of the murder do not add up." Manoogian who has personally examined the body further added:  "The body was clearly tortured prior to being murdered, and the murder probably took place outside of Nazareth's home in the first or second week of May. These observations are based on the initital information provided by the Armenian police, the condition of the body when I examined it, the weather conditions at the location where the body was found, the way it was buried and the method of storage chosen by the morgue in Yerevan prior to my initial examination of the body." The Federal Bureau of Investigation is awaiting the findings of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. If it turns out that their findings do not match with those provided by the Armenian Authorities, appropriate measures will be implemented to launch an investigation with the purpose of revealing all the facts pertaining to the case, finding all those responsible for Berberian's murder and bringing them to justice. "Though we can't bring Nazreth back if, in fact, this turns out to be his body, we sure can and have to work hard to make sure that those who committed this heinous crime don't get away with it. But if they do, then no Diaspora Armenian doing business in Armenia has a better chance to avoid the same fate," said Manoogian.